Entries tagged with "Larry+Holmes":
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On November 10, 1978 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, WBC heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, from Easton, Pennsylvania, defended his newly won title for the first time against Alfredo Evangelista, from Montevideo, Uruguay. Holmes won the title five months earlier over Ken Norton by disputed split…
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On November 9, 1984 at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, IBF heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, from Easton, Pennsylvania by way of Cuthbert, Georgia, defended his title against James "Bonecrusher" Smith, from Magnolia, North Carolina. The Easton Assassin was undefeated at 42-0. Bonecrusher…
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On September 21, 1985 at the Riviera Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Larry Holmes, aka the Easton Assassin, defended his IBF heavyweight title against light heavyweight champion Michael Spinks. It was the 27-0 Spinks' first fight at heavyweight. Holmes was 48-0 and on the cusp of tying Rocky Marciano's…
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On June 11, 1982 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, longtime WBC heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, from Easton, Pennsylvania by way of Cuthbert, Georgia, defended his title against "Gentleman" Gerry Cooney. Both fighters were undefeated at the time. Holmes was 36-0. Cooney was 25-0. And the fight,…
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On April 11, 1981 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada, WBC heavyweight champion Larry Holmes, from Easton, Pennsylvania by way of Cuthbert, Georgia, defended his title against Trevor Berbick, from Port Antonio, Jamaica. Holmes was undefeated at 36-0 coming in. Berbick was 18-1. The fight was scheduled…
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Don King reportedly dragged him out of a crack house to fight Lennox Lewis a second time, and McCall behaved accordingly…
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On Wednesday, July 24, at the Fighter Nation Boxing Gym in Houston, Texas, he will formally announce his plans to turn professional as a junior middleweight…
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The documentary "Mike Tyson Uncaged" dates from 1986, the year he became the youngest man in boxing history, at age 20, to win the heavyweight crown. No one knew at the time what was to come; it looked like he might he remain champion forever. But as unknown as his topsy-turvy future would turn out to…
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Produced by PBS in 1992, this documentary explores the darker side of our admittedly dark sport. It follows the career of a young Shannon Briggs and includes interviews with Evander Holyfield, Larry Holmes, Teddy Atlas, Dan Duva, Kathy Duva, Lou Duva, Bobby Czyz, Bob Arum, and Mike Marley. Even Muhammad…
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“Hey, man—pain is universal,” Cooney said as he balled a fist to contain his own emotions. “We all feel it, no matter who we are and where we come from…”
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Complaining about the current state of the heavyweight division is like beating a dead horse. It may be satisfying on some level, but that old gray mare ain't what she used to be. Larry Holmes fought Ken Norton at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for the WBC heavyweight title on June 9, 1978. Holmes had beaten…
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When HBO first broadcast Don King: Only in America in 1997, Don King was not pleased. A serio-comic dramatization of the life of the wild-haired promoter based on the book of the same name by thorn-in-the-side Jack Newfield, the film starred Ving Rhames as King, Vondie Curtis-Hall as Lloyd Price,…
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He went to work as a hired gun for Murder Incorporated, taking his orders Louis (Lepke) Buchalter, the only mob leader to be executed in the electric chair…
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“No-one owns life, but anyone who can pick up a frying pan owns death.” So they say. And those people are right…
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Known as the “Bulldog of Bergen,” Braddock defeated Max Baer in 1935 and was rechristened the “Cinderella Man” …
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When boxers hit their mid-30s it is usually time to hang up the gloves, check your bank account and maybe open a restaurant…
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“Boxing is not a sport actually, for the actual boxer, it's a lifestyle. You have to live it, live it, eat it, drink it, sleep it…”
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Floyd Mayweather Jr. is one of the standout boxers from a state which includes Stanley Ketchel, Kid Lavigne, Ad Wolgast and James Toney…
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Rocky Marciano last fought on September 21, 1955, his sixth title defense, knocking out Archie Moore, "The most unappreciated fighter in the world…”
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“I used Conrad for speed,” said Wepner, who challenged Muhammad Ali for the heavyweight title in 1975. “He was tough, durable and quick…”
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Holmes, whose 1985 fight against Randall “Tex” Cobb is a model of what a mismatch can be, isn’t so quick to write-off McGregor...
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I’ll miss boxing because the ring was the birthplace of my confidence; the launching pad of my identity. With boxing gloves I never stuttered…
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Less than a minute passed before Michael Spinks was sent to the canvas, to one knee to be precise for the first time in his career…
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He wound up the All-Far East welterweight champion. Later, while in college he became a NCAA boxing champion. He then turned pro…
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“I proved people wrong who said I couldn't do something—like becoming the boxing champion of the world…”
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By the 1950s, when I met Abe Simon, he was suffering from severe arthritis that made walking painful. Back in the 1930s, however, he seemed indestructible…
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For some, “better late than never” are the catchwords of the day. For others, the question “what’s the point?” seems more relevant…
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Street fights, for all their sloppiness and ugliness, are more fascinating than professional fights where rules are imposed on the heart of darkness…
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Norton clearly had the pedigree and Cooney the momentum as the up-and-coming contender on the rise. This match was set up as the ultimate crossroads battle…
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Marvis’ recollection of Ali-Frazier history contradicts actual events at least in part, as Joe publicly criticized Ali in the 1990’s…
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Billy Joiner, a journeyman heavyweight in the 1960s, has a few fascinating tales to tell. Let him tell you in his own words…
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“I should have died in Vietnam, I should have been killed by the mob, I should have been killed by Shavers. Something always pulled me out of danger…”
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"I wanted the fight against Weaver. It didn't work out. I would have liked to have had a couple more fights before Holmes..."
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The change from 15 rounds to 12 rounds has not harmed the sport. It has improved fighter safety which should always be a priority…
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“Tyson was never a straight target. He was always weaving and ducking. Larry was a straight up fighter. He was easier to hit than Tyson…”
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Ali was laid to rest in his native Louisville, Kentucky. His pallbearers included Mike Tyson, Lennox Louis, George Foreman and Larry Holmes…
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I spoke to Ms. Dunn once on the phone many years ago and we exchanged emails after my review of her book came out…
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Today there is finally talk of getting rid of the discount furniture store and turning the building back into Joe Frazier’s Gym…
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“I met Stallone when I was boxing commissioner. I met him at Bookbinder’s. He was making a new movie and asked me to be in it…”
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Frazier is the guy who plays havoc with the minds of traditionalists and revisionists alike whenever they shuffle their all-time rankings…
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"This was my chance. If I didn't take the fight, who knows what would have happened. I didn't want to miss my shot…"
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In defiance of here today, gone tomorrow, Floyd “Money” Mayweather continues to spend as if it’s going out of style…
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"I dropped out of school in the seventh grade. Teachers told me if you don't quit we're going to throw you out…"
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Despite the time devoted to making the right year-end selections, the awards usually end up validating the consensus choice…
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Norman Mailer once called the rarest athlete in sports “The Big Toe of God.” Certainly a lofty honorific — sublime and sacred…
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Exposed – December 1st, 2015
It wasn’t age. It wasn’t a bad night. It was Wladimir Klitschko being Wladimir Klitschko. That’s who he is. That’s who he’ll always be…
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Merritt was one of those scary monsters of the game, one of that select group of fearsome and near mythical men who never stop intriguing us…
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Klitschko is a fine architect, calmly deconstructing faces, subtly carving through the resolve of the man opposite…
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Tattoos are, simply, trendy. Since the 1990s, more and more fighters have sought their identity, or toughness, in a tattoo, but it’s their vulnerability I see...
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This Saturday at the Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida, Shannon Briggs meets inactive and unheralded Michael Marrone…